


On The Other Side Of The Beltane Fires

by vix_spes



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: hds_beltane, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, HP: EWE, M/M, Public Sex, unusual careers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-22
Updated: 2012-06-22
Packaged: 2018-01-11 07:57:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1170613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vix_spes/pseuds/vix_spes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With this year’s Beltane celebrations fast approaching, Harry is having flashbacks to last year’s celebrations and who he shared the fires with. The only problem is, he can't remember exactly who he shared the fires with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On The Other Side Of The Beltane Fires

Harry paused briefly to wipe the sweat off his forehead, take a drink of water and recast the cooling charms on himself. Catching a flash of movement and colour out of the corner of his eye on a nearby tree he turned to look and smiled to himself as he did so. It was a bloody good job Ron wasn't doing this; he'd pitch a fit and run away screaming. The flash of colour he'd seen was a Brazilian black and white tarantula. Judging by the fact that Ron was incapable of coping with a simple house-spider (he'd never be the man of the house where arachnids were concerned), he'd be in a dead faint by now or at the very least, half-way back to England. Harry was in South America collecting a series of ingredients that had been requested by a private client who had been willing to pay a rather large sum of money as well as cover all of Harry's expenses in order to ensure that he (the client) received the ingredients as quickly as possible. Harry had no problem with that at all; he loved his job and loved the fact that he got to travel the world doing what he loved.

Everybody had been somewhat surprised by Harry's choice of career following the death of Voldemort and his eventual graduation from Hogwarts. While a few of Harry's graduating class (primarily Slytherin's and the odd Ravenclaw) had gone into arranged marriages, the majority had gone into the Ministry or the Auror Academy, a few (such as Hermione) chose higher-education at one of the wizarding world's few universities while a handful, Harry included, accepted apprenticeships in their chosen field. However, contrary to popular belief, Harry's chosen field wasn't Defence Against the Dark Arts or even Charms or Potions which were widely assumed to be back-up options. Instead, he opted for the field of Herbology alongside Neville Longbottom although it was the latter being groomed by Professor Sprout to take over her role at Hogwarts as Professor of Herbology.

The thing was, to Harry, Herbology wasn't a completely crazy choice. Out of all of the chores that he'd had to complete at the Dursley's, the gardening along with the cooking had always been his favourites with the gardening just edging out the competition. It was always the time when he got a brief respite from his relations and he found both working with his hands and the manual labour to be satisfying. He didn't want to be a professional Quidditch player – he may have the natural talent but he wasn't stupid, he knew that they only really wanted him for his name - he had no interest in the Ministry and having spent so many years fighting Voldemort that he couldn't face the Auror Academy. He didn't feel comfortable apprenticing in DADA because, once he had completed it, he would, in essence, be trapped at Hogwarts in a job that he didn't particularly want. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy teaching because he did, in fact he had thoroughly enjoyed teaching the DA, but as much as he loved Hogwarts he'd never had a chance at a normal life and, for once, he'd like a chance to actually live. He wanted to travel the world and, even though he had enough money to not work for the rest of his life, he wanted to feel useful. Surprisingly, it was Severus Snape who came up with what Harry thought was the perfect solution; that of a harvester of potions ingredients. It allowed Harry to utilise the knowledge that he had gained during his Herbology apprenticeship as well as during his NEWT-level Potions classes as well as the opportunity to travel the world. Then again, Harry remembered with a smile, Snape had also said that the job would satisfy Harry's need to completely and utterly disregard his own safety at times. Harry had scowled at that but couldn't deny it. At first he had started out with just Severus and a few other potions masters as clients before his reputation had spread. Then he had started working for smaller apothecaries before St. Mungo's had contracted him to help obtain some of the rarer ingredients that they needed. Severus was no longer a paying client but wherever Harry was in the world he would make sure that he collected more of the ingredients that he had been asked to collect with the extras being secreted away and sent to Hogwarts for Severus' private stores.

There was something that had taken everybody by surprise; Harry's friendship with Severus. It had been a slow-growing friendship but once it was formed it was both strong and close surprising everyone who had witnessed the vitriol and antagonistic behaviour that had characterised their early relationship. The first attempt at Occlumency lessons had been an unmitigated disaster but the second had been much more successful. The two had then been paired together on missions to find the Horcruxes and Order raids; the bitter hatred that they each harboured towards each other gradually fading to mutual respect. As a result of his chosen field once he had completed his apprenticeship, unlike Neville, Harry was not wholly under the supervision of Professor Sprout but also spent a lot of time under the tutelage of Professor Snape learning about the importance of ingredient harvesting. His dealings with Snape regarding both the Horcruxes and the Order meant that Harry had a great deal of respect for the man as precisely that, a man, but learning from him one on one increased his respect for the man as a master in his field of expertise.

As far as Harry was concerned, the years of his apprenticeship were a wonder for him in the sense that he actually was able to work out who he was. He loved the Weasley's, he really did, but they had, in a sense, given him a fairly biased view of the wizarding world. Among the other apprentices at Hogwarts had been Draco Malfoy, on probation at the time and being apprenticed by Professor McGonagall and Blaise Zabini, apprenticing with Professor Snape. Between those two and Neville, Harry received a much more thorough and unbiased education into the wizarding world, wizarding tradition and pureblood society. Through them, his ever-widening social circle and the fact that he actually now had the opportunity to live his life, he learnt more about himself than he had ever imagined. The first thing he realised was that he wasn't solely attracted to women and that, in all probability, he liked men more. The second thing he realised was that he was drawn to older men more than those of his own age. He wasn't prepared to start a serious relationship while he was an apprentice as he wanted to focus on his studies but also because he knew that, once he had completed his apprenticeship he would be starting to travel immediately in order to establish his career and build both his business and his reputation. That didn't mean he wasn't open to casual dates though. He wasn't constrained by house affiliations as most of his age group had been what with them having originally started dating during their Hogwarts years. For the most part, he had thoroughly enjoyed himself particularly the series of dates that he had with Terence Higgs, the former Slytherin seeker, and a rather memorable weekend spent holed up in the Leaky Cauldron with Charlie Weasley. He had thought that would be weird given his ties to the family and the fact that he had dated Ginny however it had been anything but. On the contrary, the whole thing had been incredibly hot and steamy and Harry would definitely not say no to a repeat. Then there was Oliver Wood who Harry would see when Oliver was free and not touring with Puddlemere. That wasn't to say there weren't the usual disasters; one particular one was a drunken kiss with Ernie Macmillan that had reminded Harry why he hadn't liked the former Hufflepuff all that much at Hogwarts. All in all, he was fairly satisfied with his lot in life.

In Harry's final year as an apprentice, several pureblood matriarchs, Narcissa Malfoy and Augusta Longbottom amongst them, decided to resurrect old pureblood traditions and celebrations starting with Beltane. A core group of witches organised the celebrations, picking a venue that was large enough for everybody to congregate. The first year that the celebrations were held and thus the first year that Harry attended, he was amazed by the details that had been attended to, many of which were explained to him by a very obliging Narcissa Malfoy. He hung on every word as she described the significance of the festival, the wood that they were using for the bonfires, the hawthorn bushes and rowan branches decorated with ribbons and garlands of flowers and even how the rocks surrounding the bonfires to ensure that they didn't get out of control were carved with runes specifically designed to aid fertility. In addition to the two large bonfires set up in the middle of the clearing that would be lit as dusk fell there was also a maypole strung with brightly coloured ribbons and decked with flowers, leaves and wreaths.

Everybody who attended wore new robes in rich shades of greens, blues and purples with the odd flashes of yellow and red thrown in with many of the girls and women attending wearing their hair loose and adorned with garlands of flowers. With the Pleiades just barely visible in the dawn sky, a May Queen and King were chosen and crowned with wreaths of flowers and leaves. Families and friends feasted and celebrated the start of summer as children danced barefoot, in fact none of the attendees wore shoes. As the evening progressed, families left, the honeyed mead flowed and a significant number of the remaining attendees jumped the Beltane fires. The results of which caused many a couple to disappear into the surrounding woods. Harry didn't participate that year, he watched instead, feeling somewhat of a voyeur but equally reassured by the fact that he wasn't the only one there watching rather than participating. There was a certain feeling in the air, a crackle of electricity that prickled along Harry's skin and sent shivers up his spine. Much as he had when he had first entered Diagon Alley and then when he had first stepped foot inside Hogwarts, he felt as though he were in a truly magical place.

Harry had missed the second and third years of the Beltane celebrations, the first year having proved so successful it was decided that the annual celebrations would be restored. He was stuck abroad, once in Australia and a second time in the depths of Russia, searching out ingredients for clients. However, he was able to attend the celebrations the fourth year. When he had arrived, he hadn't made a firm decision as to whether or not he would be spending Beltane with a partner, if he would jump the Beltane fires, having told himself that he would make the decision if and when somebody grabbed his attention. He had found himself drawn to one man in particular, almost irresistibly but at the same time, Harry was so attuned to the magic around him that he knew the man was under some kind of illusion, manipulating his appearance subtly so that he wasn't recognised but then that wasn't completely unusual. By the time that Harry had downed several glasses of honeyed mead, he no longer had the will to fight his own attractions. It was an easy decision to make when the man took his hand to lead him into the woods. Harry simply followed behind him, body warm with the heat of the fire and the anticipation. That night was everything that Harry had ever wanted; it pretty much blew every single other sexual encounter that he had ever had out of the water. When the man had touched him, he felt that they had a connection, regardless of how ridiculous that sounded, even in his own head. However, when he woke up the following morning, the cloak beneath him slightly damp from the morning dew, he was alone. The mysterious man that he had spent the evening with had disappeared. Harry couldn't bring himself to regret his actions but he did regret the fact that he didn't know who he had slept with.

That night continued to play on his mind for the following year. Harry was constantly assaulted with flashes of memory, little things such as the feeling of long, talented fingers playing his body like a master musician, coaxing responses from Harry. Other times it was the sensation of lips all over his body. The feeling of somebody else moving within him and above him. It wasn't just touch sensations that assaulted Harry's memory though, but sounds as well. The sounds of others around them, all giving in to their lovers for the night around the fires, the sound of a deep rich voice purring in his ear, sending shivers up and down his spine. It got to the stage where Harry's dreams were completely filled with his mystery lover of the previous year, until Harry was desperate to know who it was, to be able to spend another night with them. One thing he knew for certain was that he would be attending this year’s rites, if only with the hope that his mystery lover of the previous year would be there again. That he could spend another night with him.

By the time he was ready to apparate to the place that the Beltane celebrations and rites were held, Harry was filled with a combination of nerves and anticipation. He didn't know if his mysterious lover from the previous year would be there and even if he was, there was no guarantee that Harry would actually recognise him again, given that his mystery man had masked his identity with what Harry had assumed were charms. Still, judging by his experiences the first year, even if he didn't find somebody to share the Beltane fires, he would still have an enjoyable time. He had dressed in brand new robes, relishing the fact that he was wearing proper wizarding robes again, not bothering to wear anything below them even underwear and choosing to leave his feet bare; he would have discarded any footwear upon arrival anyway so it was just easiest to leave his footwear at home rather than lose them amongst the others. At the very least, he would have the opportunity to catch up with his friends that, due to the nature of his job, he didn't get to see nearly enough.

Upon his arrival, there was still a good hour until dawn broke, the sky still speckled with stars and the Pleiades clearly visible in the sky. Despite the early hour, there were already plenty of people present, the only noticeable absence were families with young children. Harry made his way around the people already present, exchanging greetings with those he hadn't seen for a while and being introduced to others he hadn't met before. Soon though, he had the feeling that eyes were boring into his back. There was only one person who ever made him feel like that. Severus Snape. He made his way over to the older man who was stood with Narcissa Malfoy as well as his former students, and Harry's former fellow apprentices, Draco and Blaise. Making his way over to them, he noticed as he did so how much of a difference the end of the war and the demise of Voldemort had made to Severus' appearance and demeanour.

Severus had, for once, abandoned the black teaching robes with the ridiculous amount of buttons, in favour of lighter, less formal robes that, if you looked closely enough in the right light, were a deep shade of green. It was traditional that people had new robes for Beltane in honour of both the rites and the celebrations but most people were sensible about it, knowing that they would be out in the open air all day and for much of if not all of the evening and thus purchased their robes accordingly. The Malfoy's were the exception of course. He saw that both Narcissa and Draco were dressed in incredibly fine robes, no doubt acromantula-silk or something equally expensive. He managed to restrain himself from rolling his eyes; they were in the middle of a field where the grass was damp with dew and both Malfoy's were wearing robes that were easily worth a hundred galleons. He would be willing to bet that Lucius, who was no doubt around somewhere, was wearing similar robes. He couldn't deny that the robes looked good on Severus though. He couldn't deny that the man looked good full-stop. He would admit that Severus was never going to be a conventionally good-looking man but that didn't mean that he wasn't good-looking in his own right. There were definitely similarities between him and men that Harry had had brief flings and one-night stands with over the last few years.

Determined to ensure that what had happened the previous year didn't happen again, Harry only drank the mead sparingly. If he was honest with himself, he was too engrossed in his conversation with Severus to be too fussed in the other parts of the celebrations. He had forgotten just how much he enjoyed conversing with the older man, especially as he could maintain intelligent conversation on an incredibly wide selection of topics. He could even talk about Quidditch, although that was always a last resort as Harry could only ever remember him refereeing one match in the duration of Harry's Hogwarts career. Evening had fallen and once again, after all the families had left, pre-existing couples and newly-formed couples were starting to jump the fires when a hand grazed against Harry's lower back and was accompanied by words whispered in her ear. Harry didn't have a clue what the words were, what had just been said to him but he recognised the tone of voice, a particular quality that it contained. All of a sudden he knew exactly who he had shared the Beltane fires with last year. It was the man who had acted as one of his mentors during his apprenticeship. It had been Severus Snape. His head snapped up and his eyes locked onto Severus'.

“It was you. Last year. You're the man from last year.” He registered the slight shock in dark eyes and smiled inwardly as he realised that Severus thought that his disguise from last year had been impenetrable.

“How do you know that? I was using charms and potions to disguise myself...”

Harry had never seen the other man so unnerved, so surprised that his beloved potions had failed to work. “And they worked. I didn't recognise you last year, although I might have if I hadn't been drinking the honeyed mead. It dulled the few tells that would have told me that it was you.”

“You've been drinking tonight. What told you that it was me? Considering that I'm not using anything to disguise myself …. nothing should have given me away. What was it?”

“Your voice. It's unmistakeable and the one thing that you didn't disguise last year. It was just something that you did, the tone of your voice, it triggered a memory. It was you last year. Why did you disguise yourself?” Harry wanted, needed answers. “You obviously knew that it was me so why did it matter that I didn't know it was you?

“Because I wasn't sure that I stood a chance with you as myself and the way that I saw it, it was better to have an evening with you even if you didn't know that it was me rather than not have an evening with you at all.”

“Severus, why would you think that?”

“I'm not a mindless imbecile Harry. I am more than aware of the less than favourable regard that I am held in by many people. Even now. Despite the working relationship that we've established, I was unsure about how my overtures for a sexual aspect would be taken.”

Harry couldn't help but be slightly hurt by Severus' words. “Working relationship? I mean, yes that's what we had when we did all those Order missions and then when I started out as your apprentice but I thought we'd moved on from there. I thought we were friends?”

“I do consider you to be a friend but wasn't aware that you considered me to be one. Particularly considering our past relationship.”

“I thought we got over that and put it behind us years ago? Yes, I consider us to be friends. But, what's the difference between this year and last? Why did you go to all that effort to disguise yourself last year and then not bother at all this year? I don't understand.”

“Because I came to some realisations after last years Beltane celebrations that made me rethink a few things.”

“And what might that be?” Harry was intrigued now.

“Think about all the men that you have dated or slept with.” Severus smirked at Harry's look of surprise, “I was a spy-master Harry, I spent years observing people's behaviour and then add that I was your mentor. I have a fairly good idea about all of them. All of them were young, successful and attractive – the oldest of all of them was Charlie Weasley.”

“What are you getting at Severus?”

“Young, attractive and successful. None of them were me. Your former professor and mentor, the same age as your parents would have been and a former Death-Eater to boot. I couldn't see how you could be remotely interested in me. Hence the disguise.”

“Okay, that makes sense. So what changed.”

“Last summer. The Quidditch World Cup was held in England again.”

“Yes, I remember but what has that got to do with anything?”

“Charlie Weasley came and...”

“... and brought Kirill with him.” Enlightenment had struck and Harry understood now. “You realised that I'm not solely attracted to young, successful and attractive men.” Harry decided to take a chance and took a step forward, encroaching on Severus' personal space. “I'm also attracted to older, attractive and successful men. More attracted to them in fact.”

Severus gave a low chuckle that sent a shiver up Harry's spine. “In that case, what would you say if I asked you to share this years Beltane fires with me?”

Harry simply took the hand that Severus held out to him, not bothering to reply and allowing the older man to lead him away from the fires and into the surrounding woods but not leading them too far into the foliage, staying so that the light from the flickering fires played over their faces and bodies. With anybody else, the slow pace would have driven him absolutely insane but here, with Severus, it did nothing of the sort. It simply heightened the anticipation. As a result, when Severus reached out and pulled him closer before finally kissing him, a kiss that was barely a brush of lips, Harry's knees buckled beneath him. When Severus' arm wrapped around his waist, a solid presence that grounded him, and pulled him even closer it was almost as though control snapped. For both of them. Neither was sure who made the first move but they were wrapped around each other within a matter of seconds, Severus' arms around Harry's waist and the back of his neck while Harry's were fisted in the older man's robes. Before too long though, Severus slowed the frantic pace of the kiss, still dominating it but easing off so that he wasn't plundering Harry's mouth. Instead he took his time, relishing in the slower pace of lips sliding together, tongues tangling with each other and gentle nips being delivered to a full bottom lip. Not breaking the kiss, Severus manoeuvred them so that Harry was pressed up against a nearby tree and he could unbutton Harry's robes and expose the lithe torso. Harry moaned softly into the kiss as Severus continued with his ministrations, strong hands sliding up his torso, skating up his ribs and brushing across his nipples which stiffened slightly from the sensation as well as being exposed to the rapidly cooling air. He fumbled slightly, trying to get his brain to co-operate long enough that he could return the favour and unbutton Severus' robes. Eventually though, they had to break apart for air but didn't move apart from each other, not wanting to break contact with each other. When they had regained their breath they moved together again, this time both of them moaning out loud as bare skin brushed against bare skin, intensifying the sensations.

Severus tugged Harry away from the tree and towards a patch of clear forest floor that wasn't littered with branches or anything similar, pulling a lightweight cloak out of his pocket that he laid on the floor. Anybody else and Harry might have made a glib comment but not here, not now. Not when he wanted it so badly. He willingly allowed himself to be pulled into Severus' body, melting into it with a breathy sound as a hand slid down his back to curve over his arse and pull him even closer into the curve of Severus' body. He didn't resist in the slightest as he was laid down onto the cloak, able to feel a slight warmth from the fires even as Severus' body hovered over him and the light of the flames flickered over them both.

This was what he remembered from last year, the feeling of Severus' hands playing over his body, his voice washing over him. He pushed eagerly at the robes hanging off Severus' shoulders and fumbled with his own, struggling to get them off so that he could feel Severus' body against every inch of his own, the two of them exchanging wet, messy kisses as they did so.

It didn't take long for both sets of robes to be discarded to the side, neither of them caring too much where they landed. By this time, Harry was so caught up in the feel of Severus' body that he didn't care that they were in public and surrounded by other couples doing the same as them. He arched his back as Severus' mouth left his and trailed down his torso leaving kisses and gentle nips in its wake. His own hands grasped at Severus' shoulders and biceps as the older man's tongue teasingly licked stripes along Harry's hip bones and the crease at the top of his thigh. Harry whimpered as he bucked his hips, trying to direct Severus' attention to where he wanted it. He didn't get what he wanted immediately. Instead, he got a series of teasing bites to his inner thighs which made him spread his legs wider with a needy moan.

When Severus did finally direct his attention to Harry's cock, engulfing it in his mouth as Harry cried out loudly, one hand fisting in the cloak beneath him while the other tangled in Severus' hair, keeping him in place. He teased Harry, licking and sucking as one hand fondled Harry's balls, occasionally reaching behind to gently stroke across Harry's hidden entrance and the sensitive patch of skin just behind his balls, while the other hand held Harry's hips down on one side. He was careful to not let Harry come though. He didn't want this to end too prematurely and he didn't want Harry to climax until Severus was buried in him. Only when Harry was teetering on the edge of climax did he pull away, making Harry beg for what he wanted, what he needed.

“Please Severus, I want this, please. Want you in me.”

Severus looked over the body laid sprawled out beneath him and his breath caught in his throat at the picture Harry made; lips swollen and bruised from kisses, eyes dilated with lust and legs spread wide. Not wanting to break the moment he murmured a lubrication spell over both his fingers and his cock before bringing his fingers to Harry’s entrance. The response was instantaneous. For both of them. It just felt right.

It didn't take long before Harry was writhing in pleasure and impaling himself on Severus’ fingers eagerly, begging for more. As he continued stretching Harry he used his other hand to cover his erection with the lubricant that remained on his fingers. Slowly, he removed his fingers and replaced them with the head of his cock, slowly pushing into Harry with gritted teeth, trying to keep himself under control. Harry whimpered as he realised just how large Severus was; he was certainly one of the largest that Harry had ever been with but he wanted it. Badly. And when Severus paused, trying to give Harry time to get used to the situation he was having none of it, pushing down impatiently until his arse was flush against the cradle of Severus' hips. Severus couldn’t believe how good it felt to be encased in Harry and how right it felt. How right it felt doing this where both of them knew who the other was. For his part, Harry felt full almost to being overstretched but complete with Severus inside him. He was overjoyed that he had waited and even more overjoyed when Severus started to move, brushing against his prostate with every stroke. It was too slow though. It wasn't enough.

“I'm not going to break Severus, just move will you.”

“You want me to move do you?”

“Severus please, just fuck me.”

“With pleasure Mr Potter, I'll have you screaming my name when you come.”

It was not too long before Harry was screaming in ecstasy, screaming Severus' name as he had been promised, his cries mingling with others in the air, and sooner than he thought his vision exploded and he orgasmed with barely a touch of Severus’ hand to his cock, Severus following him over the edge as Harry’s muscles spasmed around him, Harry’s name on his lips. Completely sated, Severus carefully pulled out of Harry and settled him along his side, wandlessly casting a cleaning charm. He looked down as a kiss was pressed against the underside of his jaw to see Harry smiling up at him sleepily, and returned the kiss, fumbling with the discarded robes as Harry nestled against his side.

The following morning was almost identical to that of the previous year. Harry woke up lying on a cloak that was damp from the morning dew, as was the robe that had been laid over him to protect him from the slight chill that was in the air. There was one significant detail different from the previous year though. This time there was a warmth at his back and a heavy arm lay across his waist. Turning his head, he saw dark eyes staring at him and flushed somewhat, even though he felt no embarrassment at either his current state of undress or what they had done the previous night. He eagerly leant into the kiss that Severus offered and moaned softly as he was pulled closer into Severus' body. As he pulled back with a satisfied sigh, he realised that the robe covering them were the ones that Severus had been wearing the previous night and that Harry's own robes from the previous night were bundled up underneath their heads as a makeshift pillow.

Harry's feelings were another difference this year. He hadn't expected to discover how much he'd enjoyed not only being with Severus in the dark, but how they'd talked and laughed in the light of the Beltane fires. Where other men that he'd been with were concerned, with a few exceptions, he'd enjoyed the sex but had never wanted to spend much time with them before or after. But with Severus, they'd been friends for a long time already and the man fascinated him. He wanted to spend all of his time with him, regardless of how good the sex was. The trouble was how to get Severus on the same page. Before he could broach the subject, Severus' voice interrupted his thoughts.

“How long before you're off on another of your adventures Potter?”

It was an ambiguous enough question, a question that Severus had asked him many times before, but Harry hoped that this time there was a deeper meaning behind it.

“I'm feeling pretty adventurous right now,” Harry replied, pulling Severus down for another kiss, not complaining as he was once again rolled underneath Severus' body. His next trip could wait for a while.

**Author's Note:**

> If you would prefer to comment on LJ, you can do so [here](http://vix-spes.livejournal.com/93292.html)


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